For the past 15 years, Greenpeace has campaigned for
Antarctica to be permanently and legally protected from
exploitation. The campaign started in the early 1980s
in response to the threat of increased levels of fishing
exploitation and the spectre of mining on the continent.
As an alternative to the prevailing laissez faire but
heavily politicised management regime for Antarctica,
Greenpeace, along with other environmental groups,
promoted the idea of a World Park for Antarctica.
In pursuit of this aim, we campaigned in countries around
the world at both grassroots and political levels.
Greenpeace also conducted a series of expeditions to
Antarctica -- at the time providing the only real
independent source of information about governmental
activities on the ice. On the second of these
expeditions, World Park Base was established as a small,
year-round base on Ross Island, close to the USs
enormous McMurdo station. For the following five years,
the base was maintained by annual resupply voyages, which
at the same time conducted inspections of other stations
in both the Ross Sea and Antarctic Peninsula regions, and
carried out protests against the French construction of
an airstrip at Dumont dUrville and against Japanese
whaling.
In January 1992, after five years of operation,
Greenpeace dismantled and completely removed World Park
Base. The bases primary purpose, to highlight
environmental violations in the Antarctic, was achieved
when Treaty nations agreed to the Protocol on
Environmental Protection. This agreement came at the end
of years of hard campaigning. Not only did it provide a
framework for sound management of Antarctica as a
natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, but it
also bans mining in Antarctica for at least 50 years.
Since the agreement of the Protocol, Greenpeaces
campaign has concentrated on encouraging Antarctic Treaty
nations to ratify the Protocol, and to implement its
provisions in the best possible way. Further expeditions
have continued, and in this manner we have conducted and
publicised environmental inspections of over 40 bases and
stations.
Past Greenpeace Expeditions to Antarctica
1985/86 season: Voyage to the Ross Sea to establish a
base (unsuccessful). MV Greenpeace
1986/87 season: Return to Ross Sea, establishment of
World Park Base, which was continuously occupied by teams
of four people until the end of 1991. MV Greenpeace
1987-1991: World Park Base occupied year-round by teams
of four.
1987/88 season: Early (November/December) inspection trip
to the Antarctic Peninsula region. January - March
resupply trip to Ross Sea. MV Greenpeace
1988/89 season: Voyage to Ross Sea which resupplied World
Park Base, confronted Japanese whaling fleet and
disrupted work on the hard-rock airstrip at Dumont
dUrville. MV Gondwana
1989/90 season: Early inspection trip to the Antarctic
Peninsula region. Late-season voyage to Ross Sea which
resupplied World Park and protested at Dumont dUrville.
MV Gondwana
1990/91 season: Early voyage to Ross Sea to resupply
World Park Base and confront whalers; late (March/April)
voyage around Antarctic Peninsula inspecting stations and
confronting fishing fleets. MV Gondwana.
1991/92 season: Voyage to Ross Sea to remove World Park
Base.
1992/93 season: Inspection voyage around Antarctic
Peninsula on 16.5-metre yacht Pelagic. Anti-whaling
voyage to Ross Sea area which also called in to monitor
the World Park Base site.
1994/95 season: Inspections around the Antarctic
Peninsula followed by confrontation of the Japanese
whaling fleet in the Ross Sea and westwards.
1995/96 season: Two Greenpeace staff members spent
several weeks at the World Park Base site to conduct a
comprehensive impact monitoring programme.